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The Advocate: Adrift
Intro: Adrift Episode Body Deep on the fringes of the Milky Way galaxy, on the very edge of the Terminus Systems sits the Outer Rim. An infamous cluster of stars, which for centuries was known as a part of Geth Space, and even since their destruction it has remained untouched. Even the most dauntless spacers have avoided the region, rumors of uninhabitable, perilous planets, horrid creatures, and bloodthirsty indigenous species have kept many at bay. However, one vessel has set on a voyage to the sector... The FV Aetherius, hauling an unlikely crew of bounty hunters, scientist and mercenaries alike, has a single objective, to locate an ancient Prothean era war ship known as Advocate of Aeon, before it can fall into the hands of the infamous terrorist, August Braylen. The journey has gone awry as the Aetherius now sits stranded and adrift above the world Numia, besieged by August’s newly earned fleet of rebels. The Aetherius’s Captain, Kasper Martial has ordered the frantic crew to the escape pods... Iyra gazed inferno that burned in front of her, a look of panic seeping from her purple eyes as the Asari propped herself against the corridor wall, the ash strewn across her. The flames bellowed out from what was left of her former quarters. Though the shock was still prevalent, she knew it was too late for the others, they were gone. She gripped her biotic blade and stabbed it into the metal flooring, assisting herself back to her feet as she gasped for air. Through the sounds crackling fire and chaos echoing throughout the Aetherius Iyra heard the tremulous voice of Abigail call out to her. “Iyra!” She blitzed down the corridor grabbing her friend by the arm. “Are you alright?!” Abigail looked at the blaze in front of the two, and through the flames and smoke she could see the bodies. “I’m fine.” Iyra responded as she snapped into survival mode. “We have to get topside and get the pods immediately Abigai!” The sounds of fire and the sparking wires, the rumbling of the ship under duress and the shouts and screams of the crew seemed to fill the air. She grabbed Abigail by the shoulder and headed for the central lift. “What’s going on!? It’s him isn’t it!? He really has an army now?!” Abigail cried out. Iyra stopped once more, observing the scenes around her as crew members rushed across, all heading to the upper decks to the escape pods, but one ran against the current. Lance, the veteran bounty hunter audaciously maneuvered through the madness and towards the crew quarters as Iyra watched. Abigail yanked at Iyra’s hand begging for an answer, “Iyra!?” “I don’t know!” the Asari fumed, “But you need to maintain yourself Abigail, we have to get out of here!” “And go where? We’re in the Terminus systems! We’re lost, we’re under attack, there’s not-” Iyra rattled her anxious friend by the shoulders, “Abigail, just shut up and trust me. Up the stairs now!” Taking a deep breath Abigail reluctantly nodded and turned for the stairwell, Iyra following behind her closely, one hand on her friends back for support, while scanning for any other crew members, and taking one last glance towards the direction Lance went to before racing up the stairwell. As she rounded the spiral steps, the ship quaked at the fire from the hostile ship, forcing Iyra to re-adjust as she neared the top. Exiting the stairwell, they rounded for the escape pods, where other survivors quickly loaded up into the pods. It was a strange site, the ship for years was so desolate, and the first time it ever had a full complement, they were all evacuating. Captain Martial stood firm and stoic shepherding his crew ahead of him and into the pods,next to him was Kiara, as invigorated in chaos as she ever was. “Iyra!” The grizzled Captain barked out. A smile of relief ran across Iyra’s face as she and Abigail approached. “Kasper!” He smirked looking down to his Asari XO, “You look like hell girl. But I’m just glad you’re alive.” He took a moment, seeing only Abigail with Iyra, “Where are your boys?” She glanced to the floor and shook her head before looking back to the Captain, “They didn’t make it Cap.” “Damn.” Martial said softly, “We’ve lost engine control and we’re stranded, Worst fears confirmed, August really does have a fleet now. I need you on that escape pod now!” He commanded. “If we get ground side we may just be able to flip these odds in our favour.” “I leave when you leave” Iyra pledged, refusing to leave her mentor’s side. The Captain snapped back, “I need you down there Iyra, Captain leaves the ship last, I have to get everyone I can to safety.” “But sir!” “Listen!” He lamented, “The ship is about to be dust, it’s my responsibility to get everyone off of here. You’re my XO! I need you groundside to rally everyone, and get them through this incase I don’t make it. That’s an order.” Iyra stood sullen but conceded, “Aye aye.” She waved Abigail into the pod and slowly entered behind. She closed the hatch and scaled past the other crew members to the pod controls. “Buckle up everyone!” The pod ejected from the Aetherius, blasting out towards the planet below. Kasper watched as the pod departed, “Godspeed girl.” It was then the ship was rocked by a shot, more savage than anyone before, rocking both Kasper and Kiara to the deck. The piercing sounds of the breach alarms triggered once more. “Son of bitch!” Kiara yelled. The ship didn’t have much life left, and Kasper knew it. “If anyone is left they need to get topside now.” Down within the crew quarters… McCloud could only watch in horror as debris flew past, before everything slowly came to a halt, and in the distance now he could only see the body floating, face blue and lifeless already, within seconds. He knew if he didn’t have his helmet on, he’d be in the same boat. As he held on there in zero G to the now gaping hole in the side of the Aetherius, there was no noise, nothing but silence and the sounds of his own breath reverberating inside of his helmet for McCloud. In the distance he could see the fleet of rustic ships, stalking their wounded vessel. With biotic strength he pulled himself to the lingering wall, and anchored his feet, the mag locks clamping him down as he began to crawl forward to the still sealed door. Upon reaching he peeked in through the door, Saelian and Rhoen were gone, no one was in sight. He reached over to the breach-emergency release valve and yanked it. Several seconds passed as he could see the room depressurizing and finally the door snapped open. Raking himself in, heaving his magnetically locked boots through the zero G and into safety, the door secured behind him and McCloud apathetically collapsed to his knees, exhausted from the overexertion of his biotics. The sharp sounds of the re-pressurization shot out. “Damn it!” he blasted as he slammed his fist into the floor, “You should of taken the fucking helmet!” He rolled over to his back as the ship rumbled, letting out a defeated gasp of air. “I should have listened to my mum...I should’a stayed in London!” His groan seemed humorous to an extent despite the current dire situation. Even with the chaos consuming the doomed Aetherius, McCloud was barely grasping onto reality as he laid there. More shots drilled the ship and the lights flickered above him, “Not like this.” He muttered as he hoisted himself up to his feet. “I won’t die like this. This ain’t a bar.” He stumbled forward into the crew lounge, his weak hobble metamorphosing into an able stride. The lights continued to flicker and spark as he shot through to the stern. It was there as he neared the vestibule a detonation of fire and metal roared out from the connecting rear hall, the engine room, nearly knocking McCloud off his feet as he braced with a biotic shield, knocking the burst of fire away. Flames now consumed the hallway, and McCloud scampered through, swinging into the rear stairwell and into the upper deck. Many of the lights had blown out or shut off, and what was left was flashing red emergency lights and sparks from panels across the Aetherius, with glimpses of fire burning throughout the ship. The sound of the alarm system resonated out with a looping ring as McCloud turned his attention to the escape pod chamber and sprinted for them. His heart almost dropped as each appeared to have already departed, till the last caught his eye. “Not today! Lucks on my side.” He celebrated, but only to be interrupted as another explosion rocked the ship, this time just behind with a fireball jetting out from the helm corridor. “Off we go!” He vaulted into the pod, slamming the door shut behind him as he climbed into the pilot seat. Trembling as he fought with the seat restraint, clamping it down before switching his focus to the control panel and picking out the launch button, smashing it. The pod ejected, thrusting forward out of it’s hatch and there McCloud could see the shape of safety, a planet, coated in green and blue underneath the mounds of clouds. The pod started to rumble as it neared the atmosphere and McCloud pulled down the shutters, as the shaking became more violent. He braced only to be jerked back and forth, head snapping into the side wall and then into the console instantly fading his view to black. As he slipt away, a voice from the past echoed in his head… “So, why does this job interest you?” Appearances Characters *August Braylen (Mentioned) *Iyra Aldonia *Ayla Mangjeol *Lance Shaw *Kasper Martial *Kiara Espinoza *Morkgul Rhoen *Saelian Praxiun *Taylor McCloud Locations *Outer Rim **Numia Vessels *FV Aetherius Fleets *August Braylen's Fleet Trivia Category:COSG Category:Articles by WolfOfTheEast Category:WolfOfTheEast Category:Stories Category:Chapters Category:Chronicles of a Silent Galaxy